Extra hand letter holder



April 21, 1953 PURIFOY 2,635,761

EXTRA HAND LETTER HOLDER Filed NOV. 6, 1950 lNVENTOR Patented Apr. 21, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EXTRA HAND LETTER HOLDER James Earl Purifoy, Texarkana, Ark.

Application November 6, 1950, Serial No. 194,317

This invention relates to mail and the like holding devices and more particularly to what is called an extra hand for postal carriers.

It is the purpose of this invention to provide means for holding a package or tie of letters and other mail in an orderly file substantially parallel to the postmans plane of sight and in such fashion that individual items may be removed for delivery without effecting the other items so held.

It is the further purpose of this invention to hold such a tie of mail firmly and securely whatever its thickness and to so secure it that the postman may grip a single, comfortable handle to support the Whole and need never exert the constant finger pressure now required to grasp an otherwise unsupported bundle. Such devices previously provided have failed to accommodate all sizes of letters and other items, so that some were lost and, in general, failed to provide that complete security essential to mail delivery.

Referring now to the drawings which serve to illustrate preferred embodiments of my invention, Fig. 1 shows in perspective one embodiment of my invention in use.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the device of Figs. 1 and 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 show details of the mechanism, partially in section.

Referring to the drawings. ill and H respectively indicate the back and shelf member upon which the mail is supported. l4 indicates the extension shelf which has a downwardly turned front portion [6 for purposes of reinforcement and mounting as will be described. Extension shelf I4 is preferably secured to main shelf H by such means as bolts l8 extending through slots 20 in the shelf portions and through steady guides 2| which slide upon either side of the bracket member 50 as will be described, and secured by adjustable wing nuts 22 beneath the shelves. Thus extension [4 may be adjusted on main shelf H, will be always rigid thereon, and will provide substantially any desired shelf width. Mounted upon the ends of guides 21, through an extension of their coils 3B, are two springs 32, within the coils of Which mounts a hollow tube 34 whose open ends accommodate the inwardly bent ends 4! of the clamp wire 43 as shown in Fig. 4.

Clamp 40 is bent upwardly and outwardly at its rear end, as indicated at 42 in Figs. 1 and 2,

2 Claims. (Cl. 211-51) 2 so that this end always remains clearof the mail M gripped against the back ID, as shown in Fig. l. Springs 32 have their outward ends 36 extended to press upon clamp 40 at either side of the spring mounting and exert a downward and inward pressure upon such clamp Wire.

Referring to Fig. 2 in particular, it will be noted that the member lllll is provided with a reinforcing bracket strip 50, which extends beneath the main shelf and upwardly behind the back I!) and which is provided with an angular projection 52, mounting, positioning studs 54 and a clamp bolt 56, which serve to engage a support such as the umbrella handle 60. It will be noted that the studs 54 and the clamp bolt 56 provide positive engagement for th round rod commonly constituting an umbrella handle and that the whole device is retained with the back portion 52 solidly clamped parallel to rod 60 of umbrella handle 60H, while the back and shelf portions Illll and its appended extension [4 are held at an angle to meet the users eye. Reference to Fig. 1 will show that clamp 40 does not interfere with reading the addresses upon mail supported against back Ill and that portion 42 provides a ready finger grip to release clamp 40 when necessary, but that ordinarily mail can be Withdrawn without such release through the flexibility provided by springs 32. It will be clear that release and adjustment of extension l4 makes possible most efficient contact of clamp 40 whatever may be the thickness of the mail tie or bundle.

This inventor is aware that other devices have been provided for similar purposes, but submits that these have failed in accomplishment of his full purposes in that they were unable to handle all sizes and shapes of mail with security and could not be adjusted for various thicknesses of ties nor could they be mounted securely upon any but one specially formed support.

What I claim is:

1. In an extra hand letter holder for mail carriers, a shelf and back member, a bracket attached to both shelf and back to reinforce and support the same, a moveable extension shelf slidable over the first said shelf, guiding and clamping elements releasably engaging said shelves whereby the aforesaid extension shelf may be adjusted over and upon the first said shelf, a movable clamp piece extending over said shelves and upwardly toward said back, said clamp pivoted at the outer edge of the above said extension shelf and pressed inwardly thereabove by springs bearing upon the extension shelf and upon the clamp, and clamping mean upon an extension of the aforesaid bracket and extendin therethrough to grip an external support.

2. A mail carriers letter holder the structure including in a single combination a solid sheet metal back and shelf member, a bracket having an upwardly extending portion secured to said back and a horizontal portion secured to said shelf and having a support portion angularly disposed to its other said portions, a shelf extension also of sheet metaland provided with a downwardly turned reinforcement edge, a plurality of slots in said shelves and adjustable securing bolts extending therethrough so that said shelves may be adjusted one upon the other and secured as asingle shelf of adjusted width, coiled sprin s secured to the extension part of said shelf at the reinforced edge thereof, a tubular member extending through the coil springs and supported thereby, a clamp wire engaged at its ends in the tubular member and extending inwardly and upwardly over said shelves to form a closed loop bent upward along its longer plane to a curve so that its inner end is always spaced from the metal back and articles clamped thereagainst, said springs having their ends secured to said shelf and said clamp wire to apply spring pressure urging said clamp inwardly toward the aforesaid back at all times, whereby means are provided to secure in outwardly faced relationship a tie of mail in such fashion that each mail item may be held or withdrawn at the carriers need.

JAMES EARL PURIFOY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 760,299 Belding May 17, 1904 821,237 1 Hale a ay 906 883,433 Utz Mar. 31, 1908 1,273,239 Leon et a1 July 23, 1918 1,883,647 Ellison Oct. 18, 1932 2,487,536 Fiscus Nov. 8, 1949 2,550,160 Monk Apr. 24, 1951 

